


The Things They Never Saw

by LiaIsInLove



Series: Awareness [3]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Abuse, Abused Niall, Abusive Parents, Child Abuse, Domestic Violene, Gen, Hurt Niall, Neglect, Niall-centric, Triggers, Violence, domestic abuse, indifference, trigger warnings for abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-30
Updated: 2014-12-30
Packaged: 2018-03-04 06:45:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2956274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiaIsInLove/pseuds/LiaIsInLove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The kid had cracked. He stood, screaming his head off, making a scene like you could not imagine. As the lady, presumably his mother, approached him, he yelled, if possible, even louder, hands stretched out in front of him in some pitiable attempt at self-defense.</p><p>Or the one where Niall is abused.</p><p>Trigger warnings for child abuse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Things They Never Saw

**Author's Note:**

> I found this on my computer from ages ago. I had written it for me and wound up posting it to fanfiction.net in a different fandom. Long story short, my account was deleted but if any of you have by any random chance read this before, I assure you, it is not plagiarized. Here it is
> 
> That aside, I wrote this to raise awareness. It could be extremely triggering for anyone who has suffered any form of abuse, and I beg you not to read this if you think you might be triggered.
> 
> I did not originally write this for a fanfic. This is a very dark topic (I'm just not a happy writer) and I wrote it in the hopes of possibly bringing awareness to the cruel things that go on in our world today. I don't want to give it all away here, but I'd like for this to possibly make in impact, strike a chord, and maybe make a difference. Well, thank you all, and please go out and make a difference. Please, do not walk away from this with a light heart.

The kid had cracked. He stood, screaming his head off, making a scene like you could not imagine. As the lady, presumably his mother, approached him, he yelled, if possible, even louder, hands stretched out in front of him in some pitiable attempt at self-defense. A crowd, naturally, and playing on their human desire for spectacle (both the Aristotelian and the modern day embarrassment of fellow man), had formed to watch this wild encounter take place. Of course, no one intervened; they were all too curious to think of the boy's well being; they just stood awestruck, enjoying the perverse show. And so, with no notice of or assistance from the avid onlookers, the kid--in his mid teen years, fifteen or sixteen if one were to hazard a guess--backed haphazardly away from the approaching woman. Her face, disguised by a sickly sweet look of false kindness, masked her true loathing of the minglers watching and the pathetic excuse for a boy in front of her; and to think that she had raised this worthless child. She simpered as she advanced on her son, making a show of her concern for his physical and mental state.  _Oh my poor baby! What ails you so? Has the fever come back? Come, let me get you home; you must lie down at once!  
_

At her words, he yelled louder, skittering away from her outstretched arms, supposedly extended only to draw him into a comforting embrace.  _Don't touch me! Don't touch me!_  He bellowed. A look of confusion flickered across his mother's hard brow.  _What do you mean?_  She questioned, her exterior bewildered, her interior boiling with barely suppressed rage. She drew closer to him, and this time, he darted under her arms quick as lightning.

 _Don't touch me!_  He shouted once more, eyes jumping frantically from face to face, in vain search of help.

 _Don't be silly. Why can't I touch you,_ sweetheart _?_ She asked. Another step towards the boy and he began shaking violently, fear evident throughout every feature of his body.  _Come to Mama. She'll make you all better. You have a fever now,_ sweetie _, Mama will make it all better_. 

 _Liar!_ He screamed.  _Don't come any closer! Don't!  
Why not?_  Her voice was ice now, not that anyone besides her terrified son noticed. No one but him saw the fury etched in the lines of her face. No one but him saw the hatred hidden in her eyes. No one but him saw the danger.

_I'm done! I can't take it anymore!_

_Can't take what?_ She asked, a challenge concealed behind the bewildered 'concern.'

_You! The family! I can't turn out like you! I'm gonna be different!  
_

_What do you mean?_   _Your father and I_ love _you very much. Why wouldn't you want to be like us? C'mmon_ darling _, you must be very sick; such notions you are getting! We need to get you to bed at once!_ She exclaimed.

_I'm not going back! I'm not going back! Don't touch me!_

The great crowd, multiplying by the second as shoppers and wanderers alike flocked in to see the commotion, watched with bated breath as the mother grabbed her son by the wrist in a flash, faster than one would believe possible from any common mother, let alone mortal human being _,_ that had a highly practiced air about it.  The second the woman's vice-like fingers closed around his arm, the boy screamed  _don't hurt me! Don't touch me! Get off! Get off!_

 _Why would I ever want to hurt you?_ She said in a wounded voice.

 _How should I know? But that doesn't stop you now, does it! It doesn't stop you when I beg! When I cry! When I'm unconscious!_ His voice cracked with the violence of his shouts and struggles to escape. He had the fullest attention of everyone on the busy street. All eyes were on him, but only the pair of cold blue ones, identical to his own in all ways except the emotions within, mattered.

 _Oh my goodness! Is someone hurting you! Oh, I swear I will_ kill _them!_ She growled. Only the two of them knew exactly who her vow of murder was aimed at, and it was no random stranger.

_You are! You are! Now let go you horrible hag! Let go! Don't touch me!_

_What horrible hallucinations! It must be the fever_. she insisted in a deadly calm voice.  _Let's go home.  
_

_I don't have a fever! I'm not hallucinating! Let go! Let go!  
_

_Nonsense! Stop being ridiculous. You are sick!  
_

_No! You're the sick one! You're the one who beats me! You're the--_  his yells of accusation were cut off by a gasp of pain escaping from his lips. Everyone watched, more confused than ever, unable to see that the 'mother' had dragged her razor sharp nails along the underside of his forearm, beads of blood forming where they pointy red passed.

 _Oh my poor_ baby _! You must be so sick as to hallucinate so! The fever is going to your head.  
_

_I hate you!_ He screeched so loud, his voice tore.  _I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!  
_

_We're going home._ She said, devoid of all emotions. On the pretext of leaning in to feel her violently thrashing son's forehead--an act which caused him to flinch away in anticipation of the inevitable blow--she whispered in a deadly voice intended for only the petrified child she held in her claws, _You'll regret this, boy._  And she began to pull him away. But he was determined to not let her succeed. He fought harder than ever to escape. He yelled louder than ever. His eyes, now full of tears, already spilling down his white face, showed the absolute fear, panic, horror, of a cornered animal, knowing its demise to surely come soon.

 _Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!_ He screamed!  _Noooooo! Noooooo! Noooooooooo!_ Searching wildly for someone, anyone, to come to his aid, he begged for a savior.  _Help! Help! Please! Somebody! Help! She's gonna kill me! Help! Noooooo! Nooooo! I won't go back! Noooooo! Let go! Let go! Nooooooo!_  And yet no one came to the boy's assistance. No one stepped in to say that maybe,  _maybe_  the boy should not be dragged, forcibly, away, clawing and crying and screaming, and that maybe,just  _maybe_  child service's or the police or  _someone_  should be called to investigate. Instead, they all just stood mutely, watching. And when the boy vanished from sight, the crowd burst into loud chatter. And so they dispersed, still gossiping about the 'show' they had just witnessed. Ignorant, oblivious, uncaring.

None of them ever saw nor thought of the boy again. They never saw him yanked into a dark alley. They never saw the hard wooden plank lying in the street make contact with his head, a sickening thud ending his desperate screams. They never saw the belt coming down over and over and over again on his bloodied back. They never saw the steel boots to his ribs, the furious fists to his face, the cruel palms to his cheeks. They never saw him thrown into the wall, fall to the ground, and struggle back to his feet countless times. They never heard his miserable howls of anguish, fear, and agony. They never saw the way he eventually stopped struggling, then moving all together, and finally breathing. They never saw the wooden box lowered into the earth, covered by dirt and a small grey stone, forgotten forevermore. Oh the things they never saw.

**Author's Note:**

> 1 in 10 children suffer from child maltreatment. 1 in 16 children suffer from sexual abuse. Nearly 1 in 10 children are witnesses to family violence.
> 
> The youngest children are the most vulnerable to maltreatment. Over 25% of abused children are under the age of three while over 45% of abused children are under the age of five. 
> 
> Number of children in the United States who died because of abuse or neglect in 2012: 1,593
> 
> Of the number of children who died because of abuse or neglect...  
> 70.3% were younger than three years of age  
> 44.4% were younger than one year of age
> 
>  
> 
> As children... 
> 
> Babies who are victims of shaken baby syndrome can suffer bleeding in the eye or brain; damage to the spinal cord and neck; rib and bone fractures. One in every four victims of shaken baby syndrome dies, and nearly all victims experience serious health consequences. Child physical abuse can result in the malformation of the brain, resulting in impaired mental development and lack of growth in vital areas.
> 
> Child abuse victims as young as three years of age have shown signs of depression and withdrawal symptoms.
> 
> Child abuse victims are more likely to exhibit anti-social behaviors, including borderline personality disorders and violent behavior.
> 
> Child abuse victims placed in foster or kinship care because of abuse or neglect were found to score lower than other students in tests of cognitive capacity, language development, and academic achievement.
> 
> Child abuse and maltreatment can have a multitude of long-term effects on physical health. Research has found that during the following three years after the maltreatment investigation, 28% of abused and neglected children had a chronic health condition. 
> 
> Nearly half of the infants in foster care who have experienced maltreatment exhibit some form of cognitive delay and have lower IQ scores, language difficulties, and neonatal challenges compared to children who have not been abused or neglected. 
> 
>  
> 
> As teenagers...
> 
> Prison interior stock
> 
> Abused children are 25% more likely to experience teen pregnancy. 
> 
> In a study of young adults who suffered child abuse or neglect, 80% met criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder by age 21, including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and suicide attempts.
> 
> In a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study of homeless youth, it found that 46% of those surveyed had escaped a home where they suffered physical abuse, and 17% left because of sexual abuse.
> 
> Children who experience child abuse and neglect are 59% more likely to be arrested as a juvenile, 28% more likely to be arrested as an adult, and 30% more likely to commit violence crime.
> 
> \- See more at: http://www.safehorizon.org/page/child-abuse-facts-56.html#sthash.xSnSIWGl.dpuf
> 
>  
> 
> So please take action and help save lives. Know the signs of child abuse and report any suspected case of child abuse to authorities. Please do not be a passive bystander. If you see something, say something; you could save lives. 
> 
> If you ever need a friend, please come find me on tumblr at lia-is-in-love.tumblr.com
> 
> Lots of Love,  
> -Lia


End file.
